All nighters reading stuff sucks when you have to wake up the next morning.

Ages reminder
Luffy: 9
Ace: 12
Sabo: 12
Zoro: 11
Nojiko: 13
Coby: 8
Deuce: 14

~ NN ~

She stepped inside the room with a sigh as the door was locked behind her. Another failed attempt, she managed to get outside of the palace this time but…

Looking through the window, it was quite obvious why she failed her escape, she should have thought about that before planning this one. Guards were everywhere in the yard, probably to protect the castle from outside forces but it's all the same to her, she couldn't escape from the main paths, not that would stop her from trying.

Nojiko decided to rest for now, she was exhausted from running around the corridors.

.

She woke up from multiple loud voices from outside her room. Nojiko groaned into her pillow, she didn't get enough sleep. She still rose, curious enough about what was going on, it was quite late in the night after all. She walked to the door silently and pressed her ear against the wood.

"...clothing for the young lady. Please allow me to at least do that."

She could barely understand what the guards whispered between themselves before they answered.

"We need to ask the Mayor…"

"It's just some clothing my daughter doesn't need anymore, nothing else I swear, please…"

A sigh then a loud noise against the door and Nojiko winced, someone started to unlock the door before knocking and it was loud in the silence of the night. She returned to her bed and faked waking up.

"Yes?" she said in a tired voice, this one wasn't even fake, she was still exhausted. The door opened. A young lady carrying a pile of clothing was smiling at her, someone familiar.

"Ah, sorry to bother you this evening young Lady. I don't know if you remember me…"

"Ms Camille, glad to see you, you allowed me to stay at your home for a couple of days."

"Y-yes, young lady. Back then we didn't know…" She glanced behind her and continued.

"I just wanted to give you this so those jerks can stop growling like guard dogs. Have a nice night!"

Nojiko took the pile in her arms feeling something smooth slipping in her hand. She mechanically thanked the lady, and the door closed before getting locked again.

Now she was alone she put the pile on the desk and checked the paper she was given.

"The king's room has a secret passageway. Please take care princess."

Nojiko bit her lip, being addressed as a princess was still pretty weird but she felt quite grateful about the information. If only they said where the room or the passageway was… The king's room, where could it possibly be?

She looked at the clothing now, the paper still in her hand. Most of fabric was made of different hues of blue, it looked way fancier that anything she'd ever owned, weird...

A loud voice from outside the door surprised her, it looked like the Mayor herself came to yell at the guards then someone started unlocking the door.

Quickly, Nojiko hid the incriminating evidence inside her pillow and got barely the time to leave the pile of clothing on the desk before the door opened. The woman wore a long white dress, looking more like a ghost than a person, her usual makeup and jewelery was absent, it really seemed like she just woke up as well.

"Good evening, I heard you received a suspicious gift tonight?"

Nojiko fake-yawned and nodded.

"On the desk, I wanted to check it tomorrow…" Sandra smiled pleasantly and a shiver went down Nojiko's spine.

"You don't mind if we examine it then? Just to make sure it's nothing dangerous. If it's alright it will be brought back tomorrow."

"Er… sure." Nojiko said hesitantly as the woman closed the space between the door and her desk in less that two steps.

"Your visitor didn't say or do anything strange, right?"

"N-nothing I noticed Ma'am" She could feel the woman's eyes drilling a hole at her skull in the dark, she didn't look back, glancing at the door. The woman eventually let go and simply said.

"Have a good night then"

She took the pile of clothing and Nojiko hoped Ms Camille didn't leave any more messages in it. The teen nodded and waved as she returned in her bed.

The door closed for a second time tonight and Nojiko released a breath she didn't remember holding as she shuffled to get the paper again, rereading it. She had a new lead to get out of here.

~ ASL ~

Ace was pretty surprised to be talking so much. He wasn't the talking type usually, in fact he didn't tend to bond with strangers ever, he mistrusted them, even more when they were older than him. But now… Now, after being alone with Deuce for more than a day, he missed his brothers. Deuce reminded him of Luffy in his silliness and of Sabo when he was explaining his failed dissection attempts (because he, in, fact had no idea how to do a dissection, he just knew that some doctors did it sometimes and it was hilarious to hear about). So Ace told Deuce a bit more about them, how Luffy's recklessness pushed him into dangerous situations, how Sabo played the nice brother whenever Ace (rightfully) punished Luffy. Or how they played pirates back in Dawn island before they sailed to become actual pirates in the sea.

Deuce was a good listener, he reacted to their adventures with envious awe. They ended up spending the night talking about their lives about their dreams and how they could be accomplished. Ace made his decision in the morning, when the stars started to vanish and the clouds became purple from the rising sun.

"Deuce, what if you became a doctor on a pirate ship?" Deuce jumped from his lying position and looked at Ace with wide eyes. The younger teen couldn't help his blush, he was trying to be subtle about it but Deuce was smarter than he acted most of the time.

"I mean… Would you want that?" Ace added.

Deuce's smile was a little wobbly, like he was trying to restrain it.

"It's… when I become a doctor… I don't really have any other plans… I kind of wanted to settle down and… " Deuce's face was suddenly determined and he sat in front of Ace.

"If you'd have me, would you allow me to join your crew w-when I become a doctor?"

Ace blinked and sat up himself, a nice feeling blooming in his chest.

"Yeah, that would be cool." Deuce's smile was shining.

"But I need to become a doctor first! I will work hard! To be the best!"

Ace knew it was his dream and smiled at Deuce, raising his hand to shake.

"We have a deal. You become a doctor and join my crew."

They shook hands and the sun was rising.

~ RZ ~

The night had been pretty boring up until now, Luffy showed him what he was supposed to do, carried his sleeping brother to his mattress and basically passed out on him. The swordsman had honestly wondered how did a kid like Luffy manage to stay awake all night for his own watch but in the end, didn't question it. The calm night was boring but the morning was way more interesting.

When the disheveled blond stared at him with horrified surprise that morning, Zoro wasn't really sure what was going on, maybe he did something wrong, his captain didn't say anything when he used the wheel and Zoro knew he did nothing wrong. In the end when the older brother jumped from the cabin's position and tried to kick him in the face, and Zoro stopped him with a sheathed blade, he was simply glad he didn't leave swords in the cabin. (He wouldn't make that mistake again after that pirate's attack).

Despite his lack of weapon, Sabo was fast and hit hard, his moves had the unpredictability of someone who learned on the go and it showed. The swordsman wasn't sure he would have been able to defend himself without his tools, he never really trained in hand to hand combat, he knew how to throw a punch but that was pretty much it.

Yes, Zoro had no idea what prompted the blond captain to attack him but he was all for it. He'd been waiting to try his strength for days now and the blond teen always rebuffed him up until now. His speed was the most impressive if he was honest, his rage fueled strikes were very precise but he was only aiming to hurt, to bring pain, not even going for his vulnerable side, the one he patched up not that long ago. Zoro defended himself well and gave him back as much as he could without serious injury. While he was itching to cut, he didn't want to initiate that kind of fight. Yeah the blond Captain was clearly angry at him about something but he wasn't aiming to kill him.

When the first punch to his face landed, he managed to spring his sheathed blade into Sabo's side to push him away at the same time and both of them flew at opposites sides. Zoro fortunately landed against a bag of food that was laying around near the wheel (he was sure that was Luffy's doing), his stitches didn't feel like they opened yet. Sabo wasn't as lucky and fell to the lower deck and on the floor, that must've hurt, it was at least a two meters fall, Zoro couldn't see him anymore but he knew better than waiting for him to come back. The green haired teen looked over the railing and saw the blond captain on the floor.

When he rose, Zoro knew it wasn't over and slipped a third sword in his mouth, it was just the beginning.

~ ASL ~

Luffy was surprised by a loud crashing noise coming from above him. He blinked a little, not immediately aware of his position, he was on the wrong side of the bed again and he yawned. Another crashing sound made him jump, it was closer. He stood, almost stumbling on the blanket, and walked outside, finally noticing the two teens fighting on the deck. When Zoro pushed Sabo to the lower deck, the young captain was hit with a dilemma. Who was he supposed to be cheering on?

He frowned, a finger on his forehead, Sabo was his big brother but Zoro was his new subordinate and he didn't want him to feel left out. So Luffy decided to cheer for both of them, completely missing the atmosphere.

"Go guys go! You can do it!" He jumped happily, he was even kind of jealous, they didn't invite him for the spar but he could wait until Ace was here! It was going to be so cool!

But as he climbed on the mast to see the fight better he noticed something at the edge of his vision, a small island! Maybe they could get their food here and they wouldn't need to go to Gasking Island and get Ace faster. Luffy jumped from the mast and bounced against the floor in the direction of the steering wheel, he missed but he managed to catch it and turn it towards the island.

"Hey! We have an island!" He yelled so his crewmates would hear him, it was apparently enough to pause the fight 'cause Zoro jumped back. It looked like he had gotten hurt the worst of the two with his bleeding lip and bruised cheek, Sabo was mostly just out of breath. They both turned to where the island was and Luffy took his role as the temporary helmsman very seriously and took the telescope to check it out. It was the first time he was the one to spot an island, he was usually too absent-minded to notice.

Disappointingly, it was pretty small, like a giant beach or maybe like desert with one only tree… Underneath the tree were people and… It looked like… No way!

~ ASL ~

"Sabo! It's him! It's Ace!

"What?!"

What did he mean? Sabo looked at Luffy who was starting to tear out, like the crybaby he was and Sabo didn't know what to think. Was that some kind of trick?

"It's Ace! Ace is on the island! We need to go!" Throwing the telescope in his direction so he could check for himself, Luffy was heading over the railing. Sabo still in shock wasn't able to react in time. Luffy wanted to jump over the railing and join Ace. Despite being still hurt all over, Zoro was the one to catch his captain before he fell into the water.

"Stupid Captain! You can't swim!" he said yelled at Luffy who caught him and was crying loudly.

"We found Aaaaaace!"

Now Luffy was secured, Sabo allowed himself to check through the telescope.

It was a small patch of sandy land and it didn't take him long to find the only two figure standing on the beach.

How the hell?! It was Ace, his brother and he was waving at him while another guy with white-blue hair was running around madly.

"... SLINGSHOT!"

A splash in the distance surprised him and the absence of both Zoro and Luffy suddenly got really noticeable. Luffy jumped again, with Zoro this time.

He used the telescope to check and he saw a motionless Luffy being pulled to the beach by Zoro, he could hear him yelling at Luffy from where he was. He felt a little guilty for beating him up now, Sabo shook his head and focused on anchoring the ship, they got Ace back and he still couldn't believe it. Did Zoro randomly lead them exactly where Ace was? Without even knowing it? He would think about this miracle later, he needed to make sure this Ace was real.

~ ASL ~

"Stupid Luffy!" Ace laughed, too happy to see his brother to complain much. He had no idea who the beaten-up green haired guy who flew with Luffy was but since he just saved Luffy from drowning he wasn't about to complain.

"Aaaaaaace!" Luffy jumped at Ace and he caught his drenched brother with ease. He was crying like a baby once again but the older couldn't say much about it since he could feel his own eyes prickling. He would forever deny that the salty water on his face was coming from his eyes and not Luffy's wet hair. Sabo would… He looked at the ship and saw his other brother rowing on their safe-boat towards them. They were both fine and that's all that mattered.

It was Sabo's turn to join their embrace, it was more manly and he was noticeably less wet than Luffy but he was incredibly happy to see them. Luffy kind of calmed down but still didn't let him go, mumbling something about meat against his chest and Ace was too busy holding onto Sabo as well to care. Sabo looked tired but he was smiling widely.

"Dumbass! You made us worry, getting kidnapped like that by those stupid bandits!" Sabo told him but the relieved smile on his face countered his argument.

His stomach chose his moment to growl. They probably had food on the ship! He was so hungry he could eat an entire boar! But before he forgot, he pulled his excited future first mate by the arm to show him to the other captains. Deuce had panicked seeing the pirate ship but Ace knew better.

"Hey I found the first first mate of the crew! That's Deuce, he's gonna be a doctor! That's Luffy and Sabo, I told you 'bout them and this guy is… uh…" He told Deuce then hesitated.

Ace stared at the green haired guy, he just noticed the swords on his belt and wondered where the hell he came from. The answer came from Luffy.

"Zoro's the first first mate! I found one first! And he's a swordsman!" Ace frowned and boogied the hell out of Luffy who made pained sounds. Ace was pretty sure he was faking it, he was made of rubber and it probably didn't hurt.

"What do you mean you found one first!? I found Deuce two days ago!" Ace retorted.

"F-found Zoro on Rootma! When you got lost!" Luffy whined and Ace let him go, checking out Sabo's reaction who just nodded his head with a mocking smile.

"Yep, Zoro's the first first mate. Nice to meet you Deuce." Sabo smiled more nicely to the confused older teen who let out a choked out answer.

"N-nice to meet you all! S-so I've heard you've got water and food?" He mumbled and Luffy was the first to react to that.

"Food! Let's all have a party! A pirate party!" His eyes shone brightly and they all headed to the boat, they were apparently going to have their first pirate party and no one complained.

~ NN ~

With quiet steps, Nojiko entered the office from the door she just lockpicked. It wasn't the best talent she inherited from Bellemere before she died but it was admittedly one of the most useful. The guards didn't seem to have figured out how she opened the door of her room and never seemed to have noticed the missing cutlery from her meals.

The office was quite big, the ceiling high, it was pretty dark in here but she didn't dare turning the lights on, she was still hiding after all and as long as they didn't notice her missing from her room she would be fine.

The message she got from Mrs Camille was telling enough, there was a secret passageway in the castle so the young teen decided Sandra's office was her best bet.

Nojiko walked along the curved wall, looking for anything suspicious from the Moon's light but she couldn't see much. What she did see were some strange coded documents she wasn't able to read properly. From the unsealed envelopes next to them she could tell those were letters. She briefly asked herself who the mayor could be sending letters to but wondered. Did she really want to know? How could it actually help her situation?

She took one letter that stood out, it was way shorter and seemed hastily written.

"Emergency, need, backup, RA men, Cosko
Ivan"

She wondered who was this Ivan but mostly what RA men meant and decided to look for it, for some reason she felt like it was important. The letters seemed to be arranged in a chronological order, the one she just read was lying between one dated 27th from last month and another letter from the 1st of this month. Nojiko put the letters back as they were and moved towards the desk and opened the drawers to try to find some kind of notebook that might be an organizer and after a little search she found a worn notebook showing this year's number on the cover. She looked at the dates between the 27th and the 1st and found what she was looking for on the 29th. Apparently Sandra sent no less than nine people, mostly guards, on vacation and they all left on the same day. She frowned, trying to remember reading the papers back then. The 29th was only two weeks ago, she recalled something did happen, something big involving the world government and the… the Revolutionary Army?! RA, was that what it meant? She let go of the notebook like it burnt her fingers, letting it fall on the table.

Why was she researching this? Nojiko did not want to get involved but her curiosity got her too far. Placing everything back very carefully she decided it was enough.

After locking the door back she decided to return to her room. If she didn't make an escape attempt, Sandra couldn't blame it on her if anything was amiss, she didn't know if any other safeguards were put on the office. She was still shaking slightly when she passed the sleeping guard before locking herself back.

Sandra had contacts with the Revolutionary Army and the young teen gathered what she could remember from this organisation. From what she knew from the World government newspapers they were a bunch of criminals who were leaving chaos on their wake. It was absolutely terrifying. They brought war, took down kingdoms and… The Oykot kingdom, they took down the Oykot kingdom. The thought made her shiver, it wasn't her home, she couldn't remember this place ever being her home but… The Revolutionary Army were the ones who… Nojiko sat on her bed, munching on her bottom lip, her thoughts not stopping and her stomach churning.

They took down a country, how was she supposed to fight against them?

She didn't get much sleep that night.

Long chapter. I had so many plans for this fic but the motivation is beginning to fail me. I will at least try to get to the Arlong arc but I can't even promise I'll get there at this rate. Not enough motivation or support I guess.

I might just go into hiatus and continue it later? I'm leaving for a long ass trip in october for two month abroad so I don't know how often I'll be able to post anything, I'll probably write during the trip at least. I have other OP projects that I wanna work on.

See ya!